Hazel Scott: The Disappearance of Miss Scott (2025)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hazel Scott: The Disappearance of Miss Scott is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 2025.

 

It is an episode of the long-running program American Masters.

 

It is about the life and career of the African American musician Hazel Scott (1920-1981)

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Director and producer: Nicole London

** Excerpts from Hazel Scott’s unpublished memoirs are read by Sheryl Lee Ralph

** Language: English

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 83 minutes

 

Several persons are interviewed in the film

Here are the names of the participants

Listed in alphabetical order

 

** Mark Cantor – director of the Celluloid Archive

** Marcia Chatelain – an author

** Karen Chilton – author of a biography about Hazel Scott

** Michael Eric Dyson – an author

 

** Farah Jasmine Griffin – Professor of English, Columbia University

** Mickey Guyton – a country star

** Murray Horwitz – a playwright

** Tammy L. Khernodle – a musicologist

 

** Ashley Khan – a music historian

** Dwayne Mack – Professor of History, Berea College

** Jason Moren – a jazz musician

** Monica O’Donnell – author of dissertation about Hazel Scott

 

** Adam Clayton Powell III – a journalist – he is the son of Hazel Scott and Adam Clayton Power, Jr.

** Lauren Schoenberg – a musician, a saxophonist

** Amanda Seales – an actress

** Gretchen Sullivan Sorin – an author

 

** Carole Stabile – Professor, University of Maryland

** Tracie Thoms – an actress

** Camille Thurman – a jazz musician

 

Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the talking heads.

 

This film covers the life and work of Hazel Scott in great detail. It covers the life of the African American musician from the beginning in 1920 until the end in 1981.

 

Hazel was a talented pianist. She played jazz and classical music. She was a singer and an actress. She was a civil rights activist.

 

She was born in Port of Spain in Trinidad. In 1924, when she was four years old, she moved with her mother and grandmother to New York City.

 

In the US, she became a famous pianist and singer. She was strongly opposed to racial discrimination and racial segregation.

 

Her contract included a passage which stated that she was not going to perform in front of a segregated audience. This passage was important to her. If the organizers were not prepared to obey this passage, she refused to play.

 

She was married to the African American Baptist pastor and politician Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. They were married in 1945.

 

In the beginning, things were going well. Hazel and Adam were a famous couple in the African American community. Later, things were not going so well. First, they separated. In 1960, they divorced.

 

Hazel and Adam had a son who was born in 1946. The child, who was named Adam Clayton Powell III, appears in this film. He is one of the many persons who are interviewed here.

 

In 1950, Hazel was listed in a pamphlet with the title Red Channels. This pamphlet named more than one hundred persons who were accused of being communists. Hazel was included, because she was opposed to racial discrimination and racial segregation.

 

In 1950, the US was in the middle of the Second Red Scare. Senator McCarthy was beginning his persecution of people who were suspected of being Communists.

 

Hazel was the first African American woman to have her own television show which ran on a weekly basis. But her show did not last long.

 

The first episode aired on 03 July 1950. When she was named as a communist in the pamphlet, her show was cancelled. The DuMont Television Network said they could no longer find a sponsor for her show. The last episode aired on 29 September 1950

 

Since she was accused of being a communist, it was at first difficult and later impossible for Hazel to work as a musician in the US.

 

In this situation, she decided to go to France for a while. She went there several times in the following years. In 1957, she decided to stay there on a permanent basis.

 

Life was easier for her in France, because there was no racial segregation there. She found that the French public appreciated her more than the American public did.

 

In 1967, when she returned to the US, she found that the country had changed in several ways while she had been away. A civil rights movement was active, but it was not easy for her to connect with this movement, because it operated in ways which were strange for her.

 

She had been a popular artist in the US during the 1930s. During World War II, she and actress Lena Horne had performed for American troops who were stationed abroad with great success. But when the war was over, things began to change.

 

In the 1950s, she felt she was being pushed out of her own country. She moved to France. She disappeared from the US. Hence the subtitle of this film: 

 

The Disappearance of Miss Scott

 

When she returned in 1967, she did not really feel welcome. Many members of the civil rights movement regarded her as someone who was out of touch with the current situation.

 

She performed occasionally in a night club and she had small roles on some television shows, but she was not able to rebuild her career. 

 

It was never the same as it had been before and during World War II. When she died in 1981, she was almost forgotten by the general public.

 

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 79 percent

 

Reviewers praise the director for covering the life and career of an artist who had been almost forgotten.

 

Hazel was not only a talented pianist, a singer and an actress. She was also an outspoken person, but America was not to accept an artist who was opposed to racial segregation.

 

Some people decided she had to be taught a lesson. She was blacklisted and vilified so much and so hard that she felt she had to leave the country.

 

Hazel was a civil rights activist before there was an organized movement. She was almost on her own.

 

She conducted a one-woman crusade for civil rights. She paid a high price when she insisted on her right to speak out and say what she believed.

 

This film shows her talents as a musician, a singer and an actress. It also reveals the price she had to pay for speaking out. She was silenced so much that she was almost forgotten by the general public.

 

The topic is important. The story deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS. Hazel is often described as the first African American woman to host a television show which aired on a weekly basis. This description is true.

 

The Hazel Scott Show ran for three months in 1950. But Hazel is not the first African American woman to host a television show about herself.

 

This distinction belongs to the African American singer and actress Ethel Waters (1896-1977) who hosted a television show about herself before World War II.

 

Her show aired on NBC on 14 June 1939. But there was only one episode. Her show did not run on a weekly basis. In addition, not many people had a television set in 1939. Not many people were able to watch this show.

 

Ethel Waters is not mentioned in Nicole London’s documentary film about Miss Scott.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. The following items are available online

 

Joe Bendel

“American Masters: The Disappearance of Miss Scott,”

J. B. Spins

19 February 2025

 

John Anderson

“The Disappearance of Miss Scott: A Virtuoso Revealed on PBS,”

Wall Street Journal

20 February 2025

This item is placed behind a pay wall

 

Jevon Phillips

“Hazel Scott, a trailblazing entertainer and activist, was silenced. A PBS doc brings her to light,”

Los Angeles Times

21 February 2025

 

Rick Kogan

“American Masters brings jazz giant Hazel Scott out of the shadows,”

Chicago Tribune

04 March 2025

This item is placed behind a paywall

 

# 2. Books

 

Hazel Scott: The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist from Café Society to Hollywood to HUAC

By Karen Chilton

(2008 = hardcover)

(2010 = paperback)

 

The Rebel Café: Sex, Race, and Politics in Cold War America’s Nightclub Underground

By Stephen R. Duncan

(2018)

 

When Women Invented Television: The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today

By Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

(2021)

 

*****

Hazel Scott:

The Disappearance of Miss Scott

This documentary film

premiered on US television (PBS)

in 2025

 

*****

 

The African American musician, singer,

actress, and civil rights activist

Hazel Scott

(1920-1981)

 

*****

The Hazel Scott Show

aired on the DuMont Television Network

from July to September 1950

 

*****

Red Channels:

The Report of Communist Influence in

Radio and Television

Published by Counterattack

(1950)

 

***** 

Hazel Scott

The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist from

Café Society to Hollywood to HUAC

by Karen Chilton

(2008 = hardcover)

(2010 = paperback)

 

*****

 

 

Bridge of Spies (2015)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bridge of Spies is a historical drama which premiered in 2015. It is interesting, but there are some flaws.

 

It is based on a true story: the legendary exchange of spies between East and West that took place on a bridge in Berlin in 1962, at the height of the Cold War.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

                                                                 

** Directed by Steven Spielberg

** Written by Matt Charman, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

** Run time: 140 minutes

 

The man in charge of the exchange was the American lawyer James B. Donovan (1916-1970), who had some experience with international affairs:

 

# 1. From 1943 to 1945 he had been General Counsel at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (the forerunner of the CIA).

 

# 2. From 1945 to 1946 he had been an assistant to Justice Robert H. Jackson at the Nuremberg Tribunal in Germany.

 

This drama is based on or inspired by Donovan’s account Strangers on a Bridge which was published in 1964 (and reprinted in 2015), but the title of the drama is borrowed from a book by the British author Giles Whittell: Bridge of Spies (hardcover 2010) (paperback 2012).

 

Part one

The exchange took place on Glienicke Bridge, which connects West Berlin and Potsdam. During the Cold War, this bridge connected the southwest corner of West Berlin with Potsdam, which was a part of East Germany.

 

When the Berlin Wall went up in August 1961, the bridge was closed to the public. This is why it was well-suited for an exchange.

 

Nobody expected anything of importance to happen there. The superpowers did not want any publicity. The exchange had to be done discreetly.

 

Three persons were exchanged in the morning of 10 February 1962:

 

# 1. Rudolf Abel (1903-1971), a Soviet spy, who had been working in the US for several years. He was arrested in New York in 1957. Following a trial, he was sentenced to a long prison sentence.

 

His defence lawyer (James Donovan) convinced the judge not to give Abel a death sentence. With remarkable foresight, he said: if the Soviets later catch one of our guys, we can swap our guy for Abel. This was, in fact, what happened five years later, in Berlin in 1962.

 

# 2. Francis Gary Powers (1939-1977), an American pilot, whose U-2 spy-plane was shot down over the USSR in 1960.

 

He bailed out before his plane disintegrated. When he landed with his parachute on the ground, he was arrested. Following a trial, he was sentenced to a long prison sentence.

 

# 3. Frederic Pryor (1933-2019), a graduate student, who was working on a dissertation about trade in the eastern bloc. He was not a spy, but he was believed to be one, because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

He was arrested in East Berlin in August 1961. He was never charged with a crime and never brought before a court, but if he had been, he would probably have been found guilty of a crime and he would have faced a long prison sentence.

 

Abel and Powers were exchanged on the bridge. Abel walked from the West Berlin end, while Powers walked from the Potsdam end. Halfway across the bridge they passed each other. This was the only time they met.

 

The exchange on the bridge did not take place until Pryor had been handed over to his parents at Check Point Charlie, one of two crossing points in the city.

 

When this drama begins, we already know how it will it end. We know the exchange was made. What we do not know is how Donovan managed to accomplish this feat in a matter of days. It was a masterful negotiation.

 

His status was difficult to define. He was official and unofficial. He was officially chosen by the US Government to facilitate the exchange.

 

If he was successful, the US Government would take credit for it and give him credit for it. But if he was not successful, if anything went wrong, the US Government did not know anything about him.

 

Once he crossed the line and entered the eastern zone, he was on his own, with no back-up.

 

There were many obstacles. The Soviet authorities were prepared to release Powers, if they got Abel back. But Donovan wanted more than that. He also wanted Pryor, who was held by the East Germans.

 

What could he offer them? He could offer Abel. But he had already played this card with the USSR.

 

East Germany wanted something else. Perhaps a US recognition of East Germany? But Donovan could not offer this, because the US was not going to give it.

 

What could he do to persuade them? As soon as he had solved one problem, another problem popped up instead. And there was a deadline. Time was running out!

 

Both superpowers wanted to do this, but they did not really trust each other. Each side suspected that the other side would try to cheat or at the last minute find some excuse to back out.

 

At one point, the USSR suggested that the US should release Abel first, as a sign of good will. Once this was done, the USSR was going to release Powers.

 

Donovan explained that this suggestion was not acceptable. The release of the two spies - Abel and Powers - would have to be simultaneous. Otherwise, it was not going to happen.

 

This story is so fantastic that it is hard to believe, but it is true. This drama about the spies will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, while you wonder how Donovan is going to solve the numerous problems that he faces.

 

Part two

What do reviewers say about this drama?

Here are some answers:

 

76 percent = IMDb

81 percent = Meta

87 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

91 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

 

The ratings are quite good, as you can see, I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with some of them.

 

This drama is interesting. The actors play their roles well, in particular Tom Hanks, who plays the role of Donovan. 

 

The script is well-written. And historical accuracy seems to be important for the filmmakers. The historical setting – Berlin 1962 – is very convincing.

 

This drama is good, but not great. What is wrong? There are some flaws here and there. In the following, I will mention the flaws I have found while watching:

 

# 1. Abel had worked as a Soviet spy in the US for many years, but this is not mentioned in the drama. The drama begins with his arrest. We are not told how the FBI came to arrest him.

 

The FBI did not find Abel. He was a clever and careful spy. He was only caught, because one of his co-workers betrayed him. The co-worker wanted to defect and gave the Americans information about Abel, so he himself could go free.

 

# 2. In the drama, some young East Berliners steal Donovan’s overcoat while he is walking through East Berlin. It was in February, in the middle of the winter, so it was freezing cold.

 

Losing an overcoat would be a horrible experience. But this story is not true. Donovan’s overcoat was not stolen in Berlin. The filmmakers must have decided to add this episode in order to make the movie more dramatic. Actually, this was not necessary.

 

# 3. In the drama, Donovan takes the train from Friedrichstrasse, one of two crossing points in the city. The train passes over the Berlin Wall. He is going from east to west.

 

Just before the train passes the wall, he looks down and he sees someone who is shot while running towards the wall. Did this happen? Yes, there were a few episodes like this. Did Donovan see one of these episodes? No, he did not. He only heard about them.

 

The filmmakers must have decided to add this episode in order to make the movie more dramatic. Actually, this was not necessary.

 

# 4. Tom Hanks, who was born in 1956, is too old for this role. When the drama was made, he was 58. Donovan was born in 1916. In 1962, he was not yet 50. When he died in 1970, he was only 53. In other words: Hanks is about ten years too old for this role. Fortunately, he does not look old.

 

# 5. The Germans and the Russians who meet with Donovan in Berlin speak English very well. Perhaps a bit too well. This is not quite realistic. Their English would have been broken.

 

I guess the filmmakers told these actors to speak perfect English in order to make things easy for the audience, but this was not a good idea. If the actors had spoken broken English, these conversations would have been more realistic.

 

# 6. In the drama, we see some East German soldiers who are building the Berlin Wall. It is winter time. It is cold. These images are not correct. What is wrong? The first version of the Berlin Wall went up during the summer, in August 1961.

 

# 7. Only one of the three persons who were exchanged in February 1962 was still alive when the drama was in production: Frederic Pryor.

 

Surprisingly, the filmmakers did not contact him while they were working on the drama. 

 

When Pryor saw the movie, several weeks after the premiere, he was surprised to discover that most of the scenes with him are totally false. He said:

 

“They had me being arrested by trying to help some beautiful blonde through the Berlin Wall while it was being constructed. I was in Denmark at the time it was being built – and I didn’t know any beautiful blondes in East Berlin.”

 

For more details about Pryor and his memories of Berlin, see the following item:

 

Katie Grant,

“Stasi prisoner portrayed in Steven Spielberg film brands depiction totally false,”

The Independent

05 December 2015

 

Conclusion

Bridge of Spies is a good drama, but as you can see, there are some flaws.

 

While items # 1-4 may be described as minor, items # 5-7 are much more serious, and they cannot be ignored.

 

I have to remove one star because of these flaws. The rating on Meta is very appropriate. This drama deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. The following item is available online

 

Kevin Lang,

“Bridge of Spies,”

History VS. Hollywood

09 October 2015

 

# 2. Books

 

Strangers on a Bridge: The Case of Colonel Abel and Francis Gary Powers

By James B. Donovan

(first published 1964)

(reprinted 2015)

 

Negotiator: The Life and Career of James B. Donovan

By Philip Bigger

(2005)

 

Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War

By Giles Whittell

(2010 = hardcover)

(2012 = paperback)

 

Abel: The True Story of the Spy They Traded for Gary Powers

By Vin Arthey

(2015)

 

*****

The American pilot

Gary Powers

(1929-1977) 

*****

 

The Soviet intelligence officer

Rudolf Abel

(1903-1971)

 

*****

The American economist

Frederic Pryor

(1933-2019) 

*****

 

The American lawyer

James B. Donovan

(1916-1970)

 

*****

 

The famous bridge

Glienicke Bridge

where the exchange of spies

took place in February 1962

On the left side: 

the southwest corner of West Berlin 

On the right side:

Potsdam which was a part of East Germany

during the Cold War

 

*****